First off- because there are 330 of you waiting to know and because I need to end this give away (my approve button on my blog is getting tired!) We will start with the fun stuff- giving away a bag!!
DRUMROLL…
the winner of the Kelly Moore bag is Rachel Allison. Congratulations!!! Email me and I will tell you how to get your bag :)
Be sure to read to the end of the post… another amazing give away for you families!!
Now- it is time to get back to work :) I just spent the last week road tripping through Montana, Canada, Idaho & Washington. I got to finally meet Kelli Trontel in person (just as marvelous as I had pictured her!!) and visit her at the Red Caboose (coziest, cutest, BEST little coffee/frozen yogurt house I’ve been in). If you are anywhere near Whitefish MT you need to find it :) If you don’t already know her, you might recognize Kelli and her husband from their recent appearance on HGTV (one of the few times I really regret not having cable). Kelli and I… (and yes… I always look stoned in pictures orrr maybe I do in real life too??? haha)…
We will be hitting up Whitefish again… such a cute, friendly city.
Second stop was Calgary where I got to hang out with Ms. Short & Sweet… Dana Pugh. I adore this talented lady and once a year in Vegas is not enough. No pictures of us but there will be a whole post dedicated to her adorable kiddos in the next couple of days! (gotta finish this post so I can edit- yay!!)
Such beautiful scenery through Montana and Canada…
We also made a pit stop at Silverwood Theme Park in Idaho. I had never heard of it before and was expecting a permanent state fair (I have been spoiled by having Disney trips my whole life… everything else is unfairly compared- ha) It totally surpassed though! It had great rides jambed into a fairly small, easy to navigate park and my kids thought the water park was the best part of the whole trip ($42 for both parks was good for me too- take that Disney) ;)
The distance covered in the time allotted though left a LOT of hours in the car. Pretty sure the car and hotel rooms were where we spent more than half the time. If it weren’t for the Solars there could have been some really unhappy kids. Before we left we bought the Adventure in a Box. It was the best $129 bucks spent on this trip.
I do look quite good in a mustache (if I do say so myself) :D
The goodness started before the trip even started with the Happy Family Movement emails (fun ideas to easily incorporate into your day that keeps your routines from being… well, routine). They know how to illicit giggles, laughs & all around good times. The Road Trip kit started with a manual that walks you through your planning process from beginning to end. It included choosing where to go, what to pack (and what to leave behind), how to make the most of each day, and what to do when everything goes south all at once. (Hint: it involved their very best pulled-over-by-the-side-of-the-road-game.). The Road Trippin’ box includes activities with detailed instructions. Lots of ‘em. All wrapped up and assigned for specific times of day during a seven-day road trip (we modified and used it over 5 days in the car- worked perfect!). My kids loved having these little surprises to look forward to and excuses to stop and have some fun during the boring. The activities are great for little to big kids… it is genius (I love that I didn’t have to do any planning- just opened the box once we were on the road!). A little sneak peek of what ya get…
And guess what? The Solars are giving away one of these kits to a lucky reader!! All you have to do is comment to let me know you want entered in the random drawing :) I will announce the winner Wednesday night.
And even better? If you can’t wait and want buy one right now all you have to do is enter ‘sewell’ at checkout and they will give you $30 off!
Back to good ole photo posts this week!
whitefish | MT
banff | AB Canada
Deborah: Please enter me in the drawing for the Road Trippin' box. Yea! (08.14.2011 10:10pm)
Shayna Shipley: I'd love to win this kit! How fun!!! (08.14.2011 10:28pm)
Kelsey: Such a cool road trip idea! I'd love to be included in this drawing! (08.14.2011 10:44pm)
ayesha: Omg how cool would love to be entered (08.14.2011 11:04pm)
Nicole Voth: Oh man! Our family would love to win this! (08.14.2011 11:32pm)
Heidi Lawson: Okay, that adventure in a box looks like the coolest. thing. ever. Sign me up to win. (08.14.2011 11:39pm)
michelle e.: New adventures?? Sign me up!! I'd love to start some new fun on our road trips!! (08.14.2011 11:54pm)
Angela F.: Looks like a lot of fun. I love roadtrips....... (08.15.2011 01:28am)
Alexandria: Road trippin in a box - what an awesome idea!! Enter me in please!! (08.15.2011 01:32am)
Kelly: please. please. please. would love one! I adore their music for happy people picks and look forward to the emails every week and would be thrilled to try a road trip : ) (08.15.2011 01:33am)
natalie millard: Please! I would love a road trip box :) and you look like a super awesome loving mommy! way to go (08.15.2011 01:44am)
jodie: What an AWESOME adventure kit! I've never heard of it before and we're already dreaming up our first road trip for next summer! How perfect! Thanks Shannon! (08.15.2011 01:57am)
Tami W.: I would love to win this! I've been following them on their adventures and I'd love to do this my own little family. Thanks! (08.15.2011 02:06am)
Kris ALINO: Please enter me Love Happy Family and love the box!!!- going road trippin soon and with 2 boys I'm a gonna need one!!! (08.15.2011 02:08am)
Rosemary Gustin: I want the road trip in the box, and I heart the Solars! :) (08.15.2011 02:27am)
Amanda Lipsey: Oh man i have been wanting to check those out! So cool! (08.15.2011 02:38am)
Kate: I love the Solar's Happy Family Movement!! They are so awesome!! I'd love to have a kit, looks fun! (08.15.2011 03:23am)
Marcie: I'd LOVE this for our family road trip down to Disney World in November!! (08.15.2011 03:34am)
Kyle O'Neill: I would so love to have on of the Solar's Road Trip Adventure In a Box! They have so many fun little ideas to keep the road part of a trip entertaining! (08.15.2011 03:36am)
Prescilla: Please enter me into the drawing. I would love to win! I've been wondering what was in there, thanks for sharing and explaining it. (08.15.2011 03:52am)
Chrissi Richards: and we've even got a road trip coming up! :) (08.15.2011 04:10am)
Allison Waken: Congratulations Rachel! LOVE the Happy Family Movement! (08.15.2011 04:11am)
Courtney: we would LOVE to win this!!! i love road trips, but haven't taken one as a family yet! (08.15.2011 04:34am)
Samantha: That definitely sounds cool. Would love to win! (08.15.2011 04:44am)
Echo Dannelle: We've been seriously considering taking a road trip this fall. We're not really sure where to, lol. But this would be awesome to win! Echo Dannelle echodannelle[at]gmail.com (08.15.2011 04:48am)
Gina P.: I could have used this road trip kit last week! I'll have to save it for my next road trip if i win :) (08.15.2011 05:22am)
Jessie Emeric: totally planning on getting this already for our next road trip, winning one, would be awesome! thanks :) (08.15.2011 05:42am)
cheryl: please count me in! looks like fun for all! (08.15.2011 11:57am)
Kristi: Ooh, that's awesome! Would love to win! (08.15.2011 01:16pm)
shari: Oh, I'm all about the Happy Family Movement!! Love their work, their products, and their fun family blog. Would love to win this for our future road trips! (08.15.2011 01:24pm)
JIll: What a cute kit! I'd love to win one of them! (08.15.2011 01:39pm)
Caroljean Strawn: Looks like you guys had a blast! Would love to enter to win one of those kits for family fun on our next trip...great idea! (08.15.2011 02:43pm)
Ellie A.: How fun is that little box! Please throw my name into the bowl :) (08.15.2011 03:27pm)
Jennifer: YEA! I would so love one of these :) (08.15.2011 04:44pm)
Erica Reed: Oooh! Pick me! I'm a road-tripper by heart, and unfortunately, my daughter is not. This would probably help! :) (08.15.2011 05:02pm)
Jeannine: I would love this...my kids are technology junkies in the car! Something different for them to do! Please enter me! (08.15.2011 06:38pm)
Danielle: OH Totally want this!! :) LOVE. (08.15.2011 06:43pm)
Phillipa: What a great way to have an adventure...sign me up! (08.15.2011 10:11pm)
zalaine: Have friends who live in Whitefish and that you were in my home state, hope you had a wonderful time and we treated you guys right! The trip kit looks so cool. We are living for the Oregon Coast in a bit, how fun would this be? (08.15.2011 10:29pm)
kim lowery: Yes please! (08.16.2011 02:45am)
Jessica Slingerland: I would love to be entered to win this! It would be perfect for our road trip to Ontario, Canada later this year!! :) (08.16.2011 03:23am)
The Bike Wash (a how-to guide): [...] Yesenia Emeric!! Thanks to everyone who entered!! And, the lovely Shannon Sewell is giving one of our Road Trip in a Box‘s away on her blog, so just click here to head over there to enter! [...] (08.16.2011 03:23am)
Nicki: What a great idea - wish I had thought of it! I would love one for a trip :) (08.16.2011 04:05am)
vanessa warren: oh, you & kelli are so cute. so happy you finally met! and your comment about your photo made me lol [for real]. you are crazy! what an amazing trip ... so jealous! i want to visit Calgary, now! miss you ... let's for real chat soon! xo (08.16.2011 04:35am)
janice: I bet Whitefish is cute, but there is something about ski towns in general!! Jackson Hole is cute in the summer...I love Whistler for skiing, although have never been there in the summer, but hear it's cute too. (08.16.2011 07:09am)
Jen: How fun! I love following the Solar's adventures. (08.16.2011 12:11pm)
Janet McK: OOOH. This would be a great gift for my sister's family!! (08.16.2011 04:03pm)
Jeanette: I wanna win :) I wanna win:) (08.16.2011 05:56pm)
Mara: SO perfect for our upcoming road trips next month! Count us in! (08.16.2011 07:40pm)
Alisha: This looks like so much fun! Count me in! (08.17.2011 12:25am)
Lauren Dvorscak: How AWESOME!!! We are about to go on a road trip in a few weeks! I'd love to be included in the drawing! I love Josh & Jennie and the HFM is so brilliant! Thanks for the opportunity, Shannon! Xoxo. (08.17.2011 02:19pm)
Bre Crutis: PICK ME! PICK ME!! ;) We are in NEED a fun little road trip! ;) (08.17.2011 07:02pm)
Christi Mulkey: Omg.... how much fun!!! I want to be entered... and if I do not win ..... I will buy one of these. This looks like so much fun!!! I need some goodness like this in our lives!!!:) Thanks for the post!!! (08.17.2011 08:31pm)
Michelle barbeau: I love this...enter me please! (08.18.2011 03:04am)
Heather: I'd love to win this!! (08.18.2011 12:20pm)
casandra heeren: oh, wow! we would LOVE this!! (08.18.2011 12:47pm)
Carrie Hasson: OOOh I want to be entered! This is SO perfect, just moving from Hawaii back to the mainland, our family has LOTS of road trips in our future :) (08.19.2011 12:48am)
Britt: Soooooo cool! I know there will come a day when my family will be making the dreaded drive back to Wisconsin, and this might just save me from needing extradition to one state...or many states. (08.20.2011 05:30am)
KELLI TRONTEL: YIKES! How did I miss this post?!?!? I am so happy to have FINALLY met you. I loved our [little] time together, but look forward more adventures for sure!! Thanks for stopping by the Red Caboose...and I loved meeting your sweet family. XOXO (08.23.2011 09:10pm)
Tj: Next time you need to head even more north to Edmonton!! I would die to meet you!! I hit up whitefish this year and I'm in love. We have a cabin near Kalispell that we have been going to since I was 10! So it's been a LOOOOONG time. LOL! It has to be one of my favorite places on the planet. BEautiful. (08.31.2011 11:13pm)
katie Larson: Hi Shannon! you photographed our family 6 or 7 years ago and we love the work you do. I have been looking at your blog and am amazed at all you have been up to. Wow! would you be interested in doing senior photos for a young man? Ben is now 17! how time flies. I didn't see any guys in your recent work- but love the creativity you lend....let me know if you are interested...we are in Lake O... katie (09.18.2011 04:36pm)